The present invention pertains to a pickup for use with a percussion instrument such as a conventional snare drum or any other type of drum instrument. Furthermore, the principles of this invention may be used with other percussion instruments such as a roto tom. This invention also pertains to a pickup assembly and associated support member therefor to provide positioning of the pickup at one of a number of different positions along a radius of the drum.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,553,339 shows a pickup arrangement for a drum musical instrument. This prior art structure has certain disadvantages associated therewith. For example, the pickup assembly is essentially limited to one position in the drum structure. Thus, there is not sufficient adjustability of the pickup assembly relative to the drum diaphragm. Also, in this prior art patent they are attempting to simulate the sounds of an actual drum; whereas, the present invention is used in association with an actual drum construction for providing amplification and tone control. In accordance with the present invention it has been found that it is quite desirable to provide for a change in tone color by providing for the positioning of the pickup at one of a number of different positions along a radius of the drum diaphragm. In this way now the pickup assembly can be positioned so as to provide the desired tone output having more or fewer harmonics.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved pickup for a percussion instrument and which is adjustable to one of a number of different positions for obtaining different tonal outputs from the pickup.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a pickup assembly comprising preferably a single pickup coil and a plurality of spaced ferromagnetic members radially disposed on the inner surface of the diaphragm of the percussion instrument.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a support member for the pickup assembly that is readily adapted for insertion in an existing drum housing and that may be constructed either in a single piece or in two pieces, which in either case is easy to install in the drum.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a support member for the pickup assembly that is preferably laminated to reduce vibration in the instrument.
Still a further object of the present invention is to provide an improved pickup assembly for a percussion instrument that is relatively simple in construction, that is adjustable in two orthogonal directions, that requires little maintenance, and that can be installed quite easily.
To accomplish the foregoing and other objects of this invention there is provided an improved pickup for a percussion instrument. In the illustrative embodiments disclosed herein the invention is shown used in association with a conventional drum such as a snare drum, and also a roto tom. The pickup apparatus of this invention comprises a pickup means disposed within the instrument, a plurality of ferromagnetic members secured to the diaphragm of the instrument and spacedly disposed along a locus extending from the center of the diaphragm to the edge thereof, and means for mounting the pickup means facing the ferromagnetic members in any one of a number of different positions, each aligned with one of the ferromagnetic members. The pickup means preferably comprises a magnetic pickup coil and a support means which in the disclosed embodiment is a threaded support rod. Each of the ferromagnetic members preferably comprises a circular ferromagnetic metal foil such as steel or iron shim stock. Each of the ferromagnetic members are spacedly disposed preferably along a radius of the diaphragm. The support for the magnetic pickup coil permits adjustment of the coil toward and away from the ferromagnetic member with which it is aligned. There is also included locking means for the pickup support so as to lock the pickup in any one of a number of different positions once it has been aligned with the desired ferromagnetic member. The mounting means for the pickup preferably comprises an elongated support rod or bar extending between opposite walls of the percussion instrument. This support member is preferably slotted to receive the support rod of the magnetic pickup coil. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention the support member is preferably provided in two separate pieces which are connected together within the instrument. This two piece construction of the rod is important in that because of the particular construction of the instrument, it may be difficult to insert a single piece support rod. The two piece support rod may be disconnected or loosened and quite easily fitted in the instrument. Thereafter, once in place, the two pieces can be connected to provide an integral support rod. This support rod preferably extends across a diameter of the instrument and permits adjustment of the pickup means along a radius of the instrument. In this way the pickup means can be aligned with different ones of the ferromagnetic members to provide different tonal qualities of sound reproduction.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention the support member is of laminated construction including, for example, alternate laminations of a soft wood such as balsa wood and a resilient material such as urethane foam of medium density. The laminated support eliminates or at least drastically reduces any vibration that may occur in the instrument. Such vibration could cause the detection of erroneous frequency signals.